University of North Texas Athletics
Live Blog Today Recaps North Texas Football Scrimmage
3/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
That’s A Wrap
5:51 p.m.
We're done for the day after the scrimmage today. Overall a lot of nice work in by sides of the ball. The defense played very well out of the gate and made life pretty miserable on the offense in the early going. Riley’s feet got the offense on stride and he had some pretty nice looking throws. Nathan Tune likewise was very crisp on offense and the MVP of the day on the offense was hands down Cam Montgomery. No official stats today but if we had a guess his yards-per-carry was around 8 yards every time he touched the ball. He had at least four runs of over 10 yards on the day.
Defensively the secondary stood out and Ira Smith caught our attention. He had a few big hits and some nice plays. One name you didn’t hear much, at least from us, was Tobe Nwigwe. Trust us, he was solid and I think is in line for a big year.
All in all should be a lot for both sides of the ball to take away from but some area’s of work are necessary. Also please note the spring game is not the last practice. Due to the tragic loss of Germaine Dawson last week, the practice schedule has been adjusted to accommodate those players wishing to attend his funeral on Friday. The Spring Game will still take place on Saturday, April 4, but there will be two additional practices on Monday and Tuesday the following week to wrap up spring ball.
Hope everyone enjoyed it today. Look for more of this in the not so distant future.
Ouch!
5:39 p.m.
Ira Smith isn’t done yet. First play for the second-team, third-team faked us out like they were coming on the field, was a hand-off up the middle and John Ekwereku was hammered by Smith in the backfield. He’s new to the defense but appears to be someone to watch.
Just About Done
5:35 p.m.
A few more red-zone plays for the second-team offense and this scrimmage is going to be in the books. Tune just found Jamel Jackson (remember him), who sat out last season with an injury, on the sideline for about a five-yard play that turned into a 15-yard pass. Jackson, now at 100 percent is a player to watch. The drive stalls as Tune overshoots Brigham in the corner of the endzone, but Ira Smith was there applying tight coverage. Third-team gets there chance now from the 25-yard line.
5:29 p.m.
The play of the day made when Riley Dodge hooks up with Tyler Stradford down the middle for a 25-yard TD strike. Pass was right on the money and only where Stradford could catch it. Well thrown and perfectly executed. First-team back out once again after the TD.
A Head Start
5:26 p.m.
The first-team offense is getting the ball on the D’s 25-yard line to begin this drive. Three wide receiver look to start thing’s out with a tight-end in Seidle.....Riley to Outlaw for nine-yards....back to the four-wide look....big burst up the middle by Cam to get the ball inside the five, make it the four-yard line. I can hear the nation screaming for the double tight package, it’s a three-wide look again.....Cam bullies his way to the two yard line.....Four-wide again, second and goal....Riley to the air but the pass is knocked away in the back of the endzone, with a flag for holding....Third down again from the four, four-wide look....swing pass to Cam who got to the one-yard line until Jessie DeSoto pushed him out of bounds short of the goal line. Knott on for an 18-yard field, good.
More Leg Work
5:20 p.m.
Kick-off coverage is back on the field again. Knott isn’t having any trouble getting the ball to the endzone with a huge wind at his back, but so they returners actually get to work on returning, a ball is tossed to them once it clears the endzone and then they return it. Looks like we are going to see one or two more looks at the first-team offense before this one’s in the books.
Gotta the offense has gotten better as the scrimmage has worn on. The defense put the clamps down early but the last two times out the first and second team has moved the ball much better. Riley with his feet and Tune through the air.
First-Team Update
5:14 p.m.
We have gotten a ton of question about the defense and who was running first-team, etc. We gave you the D-Line earlier, Cantly, Ross, Gilmore, Akpunku. LB’s went like this, Nwigwe in the middle, Robertson on one end, and yes Jeremy Phillips on the other. The secondary went Hill and Adams at cornerback and John Shorter and DaWaylon Cook at the safety spots.
First-TD!
5:09 p.m.
Tune to B.J. Lewis for our first official TD of the day. Lewis was alone on the 10 yard line and Tune drilled him, and then Lewis made a nice cut inside to get away from the defense for the TD.
Tune Strikes Again
5:07 p.m.
Second-team is moving the ball. Tune hit Kevin Dickerson over the middle for around 20-yards. Second-team O has the ball around the 30-yard line. But the play clock might get them before getting to the end zone.
5:02 p.m.
While the first-team offense didn’t officially score, (Riley did twice) the second team is back out there. Tune hit Breece Johnson in stride heading down the sideline and as he was streaking down for paydirt Ira Smith got a paw in and knocked the ball out for a fumble which was recovered in the endzone by the defense. Good looking toss by Tune but an even better play by Smith.
Working With Crowd Noise?
4:58 p.m.
Sort of. The wind is whipping so much that the old north and south endzone stands are doing there best to distract the offense. While we still wait for our first TD of the scrimmage, R. Dodge probably just had the first and second TD’s of the day..... stopped. Same plays too. Back-to-back fake’s to Montgomery resulted in Riley being left alone one-on-one and he made the defender miss both times and would have had 50-yard TD runs on both had the whistles not blown. He’s quick.
4:53 p.m.
Cam racks up his fourth run of over 10-yards on the day. Dodge was on his way to a 10-yard run of his own but the whistle stopped that. No touching the QB’s though today so the run ended about five yards shy.
Pretty Accurate
4:49 p.m.
Is the best way I know how to describe Riley Dodge. He doesn’t have the best arm, he’s not going to be compared to John Elway (or I guess Jay Cutler according to him) in arm strength but it’s a realistic possibility that he could challenge the single season record for completion percentage, which stands at 63.3 percent set by Daniel Meager.
By Cam Montgomery? We think so. He caught a perfectly placed floater from Dodge on the far side and Adams came up to meet Montgomery and was planted in the ground while Montgomery kept on chugging. Easiest prediction of the year, Cam will have big season.
Dodge on the first-team’s second try had a nice 20-yard hookup with J. Jackson over the middle. Next play he went up top looking for Stradford but overthrew him with tight coverage applied by Adryan Adams.
Third big-run of the day by Montgomery. He’s ripped off three runs of over 10 yards on the day, this one going for around 13 yards. Drive end’s though as Dodge is picked off by Royce Hill in the end zone. It appeared as if there was a miscommunication because Outlaw was a good 10-yards away from the end zone while Hill was waiting for it. Either way the defense holds again.
Special teams always have a lot of down time so we have a chance to answer some questions via e-mail. First return by Smith by the way went back to the 20 yard line, the second one to around the 28 yard line.
Drew from Houston A: We think PT means playing time but so far running with the first-team was Cantly on one end, Ross in the middle along with Gilmore and Akpunku on the other end. We do think however Gilmore will end up playing more end before it’s all said and done when some help arrives in the summer via the JC route. We talked about this before earlier on the e-mail, but Akpunku could be a surprise. It’s A Special Time Another Defensive Stop Am I Seeing Double Make that two big runs for Cam. Just hit another one for about 15-yards. Okay the second-team is still running right now but some early glances at who was where with the first-team. Riley Dodge was QB, Cam Montgomery RB, WR’s saw Tyler Stradford, and Michael Outlaw on the outside with Sam Roberson and Jamaal Jackson on the inside. The O-line had Victor Gill at left tackle, Gabe Hollivay left guard, Kelvin Drake at center (welcome back), Coleman Feeley right guard and Estaban Santiago at the right tackle spot. Finishing Up Drills Q: How is local boy Chase Baine doing since Coach Dodge moved him back to QB this spring? A: Not to bad by all accounts. He made the switch over to QB and has picked up the offense rather nicely. He’s running mostly with the third-team offense but the experience is the most valuable thing that he’s getting out of the spring right now. Being able to go into the fall camp with 3 QB’s that will have gone through spring ball just gives the Mean Green more depth and Coach Dodge the ability to rest a little easier at night regarding that position. Q: What do you think the strength of UNT football team will be this year? Switching Things Up Of those switches the most intriguing ones are Phillips and Akpunku. A source of ours (we shall call him D-LO) has some interesting takes on the two. Phillips, who’s brother played linebacker at TCU, drew immediate comparisons to a former great at that position Taylor Casey. Phillips could end up being a little bit bigger than Casey by the time his senior year comes around. Casey was 6-3, 220 his senior season. Phillips is 6-3, 196 (last yr’s weight) but maybe closer to 205 right now. He’s got great football instincts and is a very quick learner we are told. Akpunku is one to really get excited about. The sophomore is pound for pound the strongest guy on the team (not according to us, but our source D-LO). His size might make you wonder if he can handle the punishment of playing on the line, but D-Line coach Mike Nelson has been working hard with AK during the spring and the results will come. His speed off the edge is impressive though. E-Mail Time Click Here To Submit Questions Rick from Yankeeville, NY Scott from Flower Mound, Texas A: Great question because that has been a big area of intrigue this spring. Names to remember going into the fall, Ira Smith, Jamaal Jackson, and Michael Outlaw. Disclaimer- Jeremy Bean is out with an injury so we can’t say much about him and until the Tyler Stradford eligibility question is answered we don’t want to get too excited about him, but wow. Now what we have seen from the others has been impressive. Right now you could pencil in Jackson and Outlaw as starting WR’s heading into the fall. Pencil though because that could change but those two will make an immediate impact. Both are small in size but make for it in speed. Jackson also isn’t afraid of contact. Last Thursday on a screen pass out to Cam Montgomery, the play started to the right side and then reversed back to the left. Jackson laid a wicked block on Adyran Adams to spring Montgomery for an eventual TD. Outlaw (great name for an athlete), the best way to describe him is quick. He’s made a number of guys miss this spring already. The one play that we have seen that really stands out involving Outlaw was a play that he didn’t make. It was a deep-ball that Outlaw had beaten the coverage on but the ball was just out of his reach, but he laid completely out and it just scraped off his finger tips. He sprung right up and was shouldering the blame for not making the catch You're Invited Too! The spring game is Saturday at 3 p.m. at Fouts Field. However the stadium tailgate starts at 1 p.m. so if there is anything you want to know about the stadium be there. All the major players will be there to go over things and update you on the status of the stadium. Second, if you can’t make it to Fouts for the game itself your in luck. The MGRN will be broadcasting the game on 88.1 FM KNTU, starting around 2:50ish with a little pre-game talk and then the game itself. The blog will be up and running as well. Finally, MeanGreenSports.com will go position-by-position starting tomorrow and every day following with previews of those spots for the fall....Wait, one more thing. If you have a question for us before the scrimmage begins about a player, coach, position, the pidgeons at Fouts, send it in and we will try and answer as many as we can. See you then. Click Here To Submit Questions
Q: How is the D-line looking and who is getting the most PT?
First-team offense back out on the field.
4:29 p.m.
4:22 p.m.
So far the old adage is coming true. The defense is always farther along than the offense in the spring and it’s holding true to form through the early part of this scrimmage. Second-team is on the field right now. Safety Darien Williams had an interception go right off his hands but from here it appeared as if he was screened on the play until the last minute. Third-team offense getting it’s first crack of the day.
4:13 p.m.
For the first time I think ever the Mean Green lined up in a two-tight end set. Roberson lined up on the near side and Dodge hit him going over the middle for a big-gainer. I like that setup. Second and goal from the nine.
Who’s Where
4:05 p.m.
By the way the second-team offense is done, first-team back out. The defense is pitching a shutout and looking quite good so far.
To The House
3:55 p.m.
Not who you would expect either, a defensive score from Brandon Akpunku following a bobbled exchange between Dodge and Cam Montgomery. The hand-off was a little off and the room-service bounce went right to Akpunku who took it the rest of the way.
After a brief talking to by Coach Dodge the scrimmage is underway. The first-team offense will take the field against the first-team defense in a series of eight plays. Riley Dodge at QB.
Very Controlled
3:46 p.m.
Still finishing up a few individual drills but Chase Baine is with a group of receivers that include freshman Kenny Barrett, Desmond Brigham, and Willie Taylor. Not looking to bad, but keep in mind there is about a 30 mile per hour wind at the QB’s back right now so controlling the ball will be tougher than usual today.
3:39 p.m.
Okay we were slightly off in timing to this thing starting but that gives us a quick chance to answer more e-mail questions. Still moments away from the scrimmage starting.
A: Two area’s that are pretty close but I’m going to go with running back. Cam Montgomery is back, Lance Dunbar showed everyone what he’s capable of before getting hurt last season and James Hamilton has the potential of being a playmaker when the ball is in his hands. Don’t forget Jeremi Mathis redshirted last season and Micah Mosey was hurt a lot of the year.
2:29 p.m.
Before the scrimmage this afternoon gets cranked up we wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the position switches during the spring. Jeremy Phillips has from safety to linebacker, Brandon Akpunku is now a DE, B.J. Lewis is back at wide receiver, and Kylie Hill plays a little linebacker these days while still playing in the secondary.
Lewis moving back to his natural position of WR looks like it’s going to pay off. He’s worked his way up and is receiving quite a few reps with the first and second team. Almost forgotten last year because of injury and a position switch, this season Lewis appears ready to build off a pretty good freshman season.
11:40 a.m.
We have encouraged some e-mail questions leading up to the scrimmage and let’s run through a couple of those while we have some free time. Send your questions if you have them.
Q: What are the chances we may see at least a play or two run under center this year? I'm kinda tired of 3rd and an inch from the shotgun.
A: Yankeeville? Really.....Anyways if I had to guess I would say no. The spread offense and what Todd Dodge does is shotgun snaps all the time. My best example as to why you wouldn’t want to do it is because when you don’t have a lot of reps from under center bad things can happen. See SLC vs. Abilene. I understand the argument for taking snaps under center, but sometimes that doesn’t always work either. If you have a good O-line, getting an inch or two will happen whether you start two yards away or five.
Q: Can you discuss the progress of some of the eligible transfers that we may not fully know about?
Smith might be the fastest DB the Mean Green has had in sometime. I mean he can flat out fly. What’s pretty exciting has been the competition his presence in the secondary has created. Coach Dodge has always said competition is the best motivator and we have seen a lot of that this spring.
10:47 a.m.
And before the e-mails start piling up the scrimmage is open to the public. Starts at 3:30 from Fouts Field. If you're worried about showing up at 3:30 just to see a bunch of stretching, don't, that goes on at 3:15 so the scrimmage does actually start at 3:30.
What 2 Click 4
10:39 a.m.
Okay so it’s not the actual spring game, however there a plenty of story lines to cover this afternoon. Before we get cranking on the blog this afternoon a few public service announcements for your edification.
